VOA标准英语2009年-Turkey to Re-establish Ties with Armenia

By Dorian Jones
30 September 2009

 
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a gathering¹ at Princeton University, Princeton, 23 Sep 2009
Turkey's prime minister says an agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties with Armenia will be signed by the two countries on October 10. Turkey severed² ties and closed its border in 1993 after Armenia fought a war with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nargono Karbakh enclave. The announcement is the latest development in the thawing³ of bilateral⁴ relations.

It was last year's football match between Turkey and Armenia in the Armenian capital Yerevan that was the catalyst⁵ for the rapprochement between the two countries.

Under Swiss mediation⁶, the Turkey and Armenia have conducted talks to re-establish diplomatic relations, with both sides agreeing on a protocol⁷ to normalize relations. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now said that the protocol will be signed on October 10. International Relations expert of Istanbul's Bilgi University says its an important step forward to restoring relations, but it's just a step..

"I think its pretty significant but then the protocols⁸ are going to be sent to the respective parliaments for ratification⁹ and that's when the deal gets a bit more complicated, there is strong opposition¹⁰ both in Armenia and Turkey," he said.

Already the main opposition parties in Turkey have condemned¹¹ the announcement accusing the government of betraying its ally Azerbaijan. Ankara severed its ties with Yerevan and closed its border in 1993 after Armenia fought a war with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nargono Karbakh enclave.

 
Armenian forces continue to occupy a large part of Azeri territory. The government has been quick to dispel¹² accusations¹³ of betrayal saying they remain committed to Azerbaijan.

Earlier this month, Suat Kiniklioglu, spokesman of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee, insisted that resolving Azeri grievances¹⁴ remains¹⁵ key to restoring Armenian- Turkish relations.

"Without movement on the Karabahk issue that the normalization¹⁶ process would be difficult to sustain. The trick here is how do you manage to have movement on this side, and at the same time sustain the normalization process without domestically each countries having major problems. Again another expression I like in the English language, all the stars are lined up in the right place," he said.

According to international relations expert Soli Ozel, the region's main powers may for the first time have common interests in bringing stability to the region.

"My understanding is there is almost near agreement on a frame work between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Americans, of course, are behind these developments," said Ozel. "But the Russian part is more important because the Russians can block it anytime they want. But i think it serves their purpose too because Russian and American relations seem to be on a better track now than they been for quite some time now. The Russians may wish to be on the right side of things. Plus give that Turkish-Russian relations are pretty good and the Russians would like to send their gas and petrol through Turkey to where ever, that is something that suits them," Ozel added.

Washington has also being using its diplomatic muscle to pressure and encourage both Ankara and Yerevan to normalize relations.

Still, there is a historical controversy¹⁷ between Armenia and Turkey, which could yet undermine those attempts.

Yerevan along with much of the international community accuses Turkey's then Ottoman rulers in 1915 of committing genocide against its Armenian minority. Ankara strongly denies the charge. The controversy continues to sour relations and according to political scientist and newspaper columnist¹⁸, Nuray Mert, says there is deep suspicion within the country over the rapprochement. 

"This talk of accepting genocide, these are traps or steps in the way of accepting genocide, or this discourse¹⁹ of genocide is being imposed in us by great powers, western powers. That's why this opening the border debate is not a simple question, for anybody. And the political opposition is using , knowing that it is a very sensitive issue, is using it against the government so the matter is getting even more complicated," said Mert.

The coming weeks are now already being described by analysts²⁰ as crucial in helping²¹ to bring stability to one of the most unstable²² regions in the world.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 thawing   

n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化

参考例句：

• The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪，雪又一直在融化，街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

6 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

7 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

8 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

9 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

12 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

13 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

14 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

17 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

18 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

19 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

21 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

22 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。